Section 3
Twenty kilos to five
The ultralight argument and what it traded.
Shoiko external-frame loads carried on Mount Fuji, Japan.
Photo: External frame packs,Shoiko,Mt.Fuji,Japan · Wikimedia Commons
- What a 1970s pack actually weighedExternal frames, canvas and cotton put base weights around twenty kilos, and the walking that resulted was slower and shorter by necessity.
- One walker's argument cut the load by three quartersRay Jardine's approach in the 1990s treated every item as optional until proven otherwise, and took base weight under five kilos.
- A fabric that changed what a pack could beDyneema composite fabric is light and does not absorb water, which removed the weight penalty that had made small packs impractical.
- Light gear wears out fasterThe ultralight trade is durability and margin: thinner fabric, less insulation, and less tolerance for a bad night.